Chapter 419

2-in-1 chapter:

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Kaelith raised an eyebrow.

“So, you’re saying you’ll accept?”

“I…”

Kisuke Urahara opened his mouth.

After a couple of seconds of thought, he asked cautiously:

“Aizen-fukutaichō… no, I mean, Advisor Aizen—he’ll be involved too, right?”

“Sōsuke? I’m not entirely sure, but he probably will be.”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

Hearing Kaelith say that, Kisuke let out a slight breath.

“But I’ll pass on the position of First Division Lieutenant. I’m just an average guy—not really cut out for that kind of responsibility…”

After a moment’s thought, Kisuke suggested:

“How about I just do what Mayuri once did—take a low seat officer role in Division One?”

“That won’t do.”

Kaelith shook his head.

While Kisuke might not care for rank or recognition, this was a new era, different from the past.

And in the new era, the value was placed on respecting talent.

If someone like Kisuke couldn’t shine in his proper place, then what chance did others have to rise on their own merit?

After thinking it over, Kaelith said:

“If you care that much about Sōsuke, then you can do what he does—serve as an advisor.”

“When I take the throne, you’ll be the Second Advisor to the Captain-Commander.”

Second Advisor…

While the title of Captain-Commander’s advisor was a bit intimidating, being the second, with Aizen in front to take the heat, was something he could live with.

After a brief moment of consideration, Kisuke finally agreed.

Seeing Kisuke nod, Kaelith let out a “woohoo” and jumped off him.

To avoid Kaelith pulling something inappropriate—like tossing him into the air—Kisuke quickly put some distance between them.

Then he saw Kaelith fall into thought.

“Hmm… that means the position of lieutenant becomes a problem.”

“I can’t take Kenpachi—he’s got other plans anyway.”

“Whatever, if no one else is around, I’ll bring Rangiku. She may be a bit ditzy, but at least she’s easy on the eyes.”

Hearing Kaelith’s words, Kisuke looked up at the sky in silence.

So his alternate candidate… was Matsumoto Rangiku?

He suddenly felt like his supposed vice-captain role didn’t carry much weight.

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The shameless Kaelith, more than ten days before his official appointment, had already assembled a personal team to do the work for him.

Now free of obligations, a thought suddenly struck him.

During his last battle with Old Man Yamamot, Rixiang Jimie had suffered serious damage in its Bankai state.

When a Zanpakutō is damaged in Bankai form, it cannot recover naturally.

That’s exactly why, during his fight with Kenpachi last time, he couldn’t release his blade—he just swung it a few times in its sealed form.

Now that he finally had some time, it was the perfect moment to repair Rixiang Jimie.

Drawing the blade, Kaelith examined its surface.

If it were only a matter of controlling Reiryoku to patch up the damage, he could handle that easily with his current ability.

But doing just that would be meaningless.

In the next intense battle, Rixiang Jimie would break again under the pressure of his own power.

If it was going to be repaired, it had to be done thoroughly.

After some thought, he returned the blade to its sheath.

When it came to professional work, it needed to be done by a professional.

Boarding the Shiba family express, he returned to the Royal Palace.

Kirio Hikifune, who had come to greet him, had a complicated look on her face upon seeing Kaelith’s return.

“You… do you even know what the Soul King Palace is?”

“Normally, even captain-level Shinigami never get a chance to come up here in their lifetime. And you—you treat it like a tourist spot, dropping by whenever you like…”

Hearing this, Kaelith stepped off the Tenchū Dais and arched a brow.

“Watch your tone. I’m the one inheriting the Captain-Commander’s position next month!”

“As Captain-Commander, I’m equal in authority to that bald monk. And you? A lowly elder of one sect—you dare speak so rudely to me, the head of his order?”

“?”

Tenjirō Kirinji’s eyes widened.

Not from being overwhelmed by Kaelith’s aura—but from sheer shock at what he’d just heard.

“You? Captain-Commander?!”

“Heh… That’s right.”

“But Yamamoto was your teacher! And you could go that far…”

“?”

Kirinji let out a cry of pain as Kaelith tucked him under his arm.

With Kirinji locked in place, Kaelith made his way toward the Rest Chamber.

The other Zero Division members were already there.

Everyone was genuinely glad to see Kaelith return.

The monk chuckled:

“It’s good. Move around more. Get used to the environment up here…”

To someone who had lived for a million years, the few years Kaelith had been gone passed in the blink of an eye.

The only thing that marked the passage of time for him was the release of new games from Yūtendō.

With the spiritual network fully developed, he no longer had to wait for the Tenchū Dais to bring up physical game cartridges.

Whatever he wanted to play—he could just download.

It could be said that, of all the games Yūtendō had ever released, his skill ranked in the top two.

As for why not first? That was thanks to some guy with the ID “Skull Emperor.”

The monk was convinced that was just a paid shill account set up by Yūtendō to bait players into spending money.

Don’t let me find out who you are, Skull Emperor. If I do, I’ll strip that name off your back.!!

When the others heard that Kaelith would succeed Yamamoto as the next Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, they were initially surprised—but quickly accepted it.

This guy had already fought the monk to the edge of the universe. What was so strange about him becoming Captain-Commander?

Only the monk scratched his head after hearing the news.

“Captain-Commander, huh…”

Looks like Yamamoto must have sensed something.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have rushed so quickly to put Kaelith in that position.

Sigh… although Yamamoto’s several thousand years of age didn’t feel long to him, it still earned him the phrase “an old man grows wise.”

Unfortunately, in the face of stability across the three realms, even the position of Captain-Commander was of little help.

All he could do was hope things didn’t spiral into the worst-case scenario.

If they did, he’d have no choice but to offend Yamamoto Genryūsai.

With a faint sense of emotion, the monk lifted his sake bowl and downed it in one go.

After eating and drinking, Kaelith went to see Ōetsu and explained his reason for coming.

Ōetsu’s expression turned a bit strange as he listened.

He had seen Rixiang Jimie’s Bankai.

Those alloy-like claws had extreme hardness and a stronger ability to bypass defense than even its Shikai form.

A Zanpakutō so clearly born for battle—yet it broke under the pressure of Kaelith’s power?

That was… hard to believe.

Bringing Kaelith with him, he returned to the Phoenix Palace.

“The sword,” he said in front of the forge.

Kaelith drew Rixiang Jimie and laid it on the forging table.

A few uniquely styled women gathered around and began examining Rixiang Jimie.

Having returned here after a long absence, Sayafushi also materialized into physical form.

Looking around at the familiar scenery, the girl smiled.

In the past, because of her overwhelming destructive power, Ōetsu never allowed her to move freely.

Even in physical form, she radiated a powerful destruction field—anything that came close would be shredded to bits.

But now, her power had been perfectly restrained by Kaelith. Unless she deliberately used it, it would have no effect on the surroundings.

To walk freely in the familiar place again—this truly made her happy.

Soon, several manifested Zanpakutō stood before Kaelith and Ōetsu.

All of them had somewhat complicated expressions.

Under their gazes, one of the swords spoke:

“Ōetsu-sama. Kaelith-sama.”

“Rixiang Jimie is not actually damaged.”

“Based on our observation, this isn’t a Zanpakutō at all—just a standard Asauchi.”

“No… to be precise, not even an Asauchi. It’s just a normal blade.”

“…Huh?”

Ōetsu froze.

What do you mean it’s not a Zanpakutō? Was Kaelith messing with him?

He turned to look beside him—only to find Kaelith even more stunned than he was.

That settled it. Balance restored.

After confirming that Kaelith wasn’t joking, Ōetsu suggested he perform Zan meditation to enter his inner world and see what had really happened.

Hearing this, Sayafushi asked to go with him.

As Kaelith’s Zanpakutō, she had never entered his inner world before and was quite curious.

Under Ōetsu’s watchful gaze, Kaelith brought Sayafushi into spiritual sync.

When he opened his eyes again, the scene before him had completely changed.

Familiar, yet unfamiliar.

Still the endless ocean. Still the massive triple-masted ship cutting through the waves.

Only this time, unlike the stormy weather before, the skies were calm.

A cool breeze pushed the ship steadily forward across a gentle sea.

A red-haired girl sat at the bow, gazing out at the distant horizon.

“You’re late. What took you so long?”

Sensing Kaelith’s arrival, she spoke.

As Kaelith watched, the girl stood and turned toward him.

Then she noticed the black-dressed girl standing beside him and paused in surprise.

Her gaze toward Kaelith instantly became gloomy.

This guy… coming into her space and bringing another girl along?

Though technically, this wasn’t exactly “her” room, she and Kaelith were essentially one in mind—there was no difference.

Seeing that Rixiang Jimie looked fine, Kaelith grinned.

“You look healthy enough. That’s a relief.”

“So what’s going on exactly?”

Watching Kaelith’s carefree attitude, Rixiang Jimie shook her head helplessly.

While Sayafushi wandered around the ship, happily exploring with great caution, she explained her current condition to Kaelith.

After hearing it, Kaelith showed a look of realization.

To help him stop Yhwach, Aizen had activated the Hōgyoku’s third phase.

At that level, the Hōgyoku’s interference with reality became immensely powerful.

Though Kaelith couldn’t wield the full effect, being in sync with Aizen’s power meant he was still influenced by it.

The Hōgyoku’s power was to manifest the user’s will.

When Kaelith threw that destructive punch, Rixiang Jimie realized something.

Her power could no longer keep up with this man.

Zanpakutō were supposed to grow with their Shinigami—the stronger the user became, the more the blade would evolve in turn.

But Kaelith’s training path was far too unorthodox.

His multilayered striking method allowed him to stack and exceed his limits. At five layers, he wasn’t just pushing the boundary—he was right on the edge of self-destruction.

Realizing this, Rixiang Jimie formed a powerful desire.

She wanted to keep up with him.

She wanted to become more of his strength.

Sensing her will, the Hōgyoku’s power entered her.

When Kaelith threw that punch, she hadn’t melted into molten steel because of the heat.

She had completely fused into Kaelith’s body, becoming part of him.

While every other Shinigami was striving to grow stronger through their Zanpakutō, Kaelith had, without even realizing it, achieved a completely unprecedented state.

He and his Zanpakutō had become one.

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LSP, activate!!

The monk sat cross-legged in front of the screen, raised the controller, and pressed the button.

First thing after logging in—check the friends list for Skull Emperor.

Lately, he’d been grinding his “Climbing Dragon” technique and had improved a lot. He was sure he could take revenge now and reclaim his place on the damage charts.

But that name—normally online 24/7—was gray today.

The monk was stunned.

Hueco Mundo. A certain desert.

Baraggan looked down at the sword in his hand with a strange expression.

“Yijisiji Ba… That’s his name now?”

“I thought he was dead. Didn’t expect his name was stripped and he was sealed inside a Zanpakutō.”

“Pathetic. Death would’ve been better.”

Watching Baraggan’s scornful expression, Kaelith asked curiously:

“I thought you’d be touched, seeing an old friend again.”

Baraggan burst out laughing.

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